Hourly rainfall intensity continues to increase

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Heavy downpours are becoming more intense in the United States as climate change supercharges the water cycle, leading to an increase in rainfall rates.

Rainfall rates are a measurement of the amount of rain that falls in a given area in a specific time, and it is calculated in inches.

Grade-school students often learn about the water cycle in their science/weather classes. The water cycle involves the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth...